


Speed Dating

by leifstars



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Coder Bfs, F/M, M/M, anxious leif, awkward coder bfs, bird tie leif, yes i am projecting my anxiety onto leif, zoey's extraordinary playlist - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 02:55:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30116112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leifstars/pseuds/leifstars
Summary: do you like or like like me?- leif in the back of his head the whole night
Relationships: Clarkeman (kinda), Coder Bfs - Relationship, Tobin Batra/Leif Donnelly
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Speed Dating

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is my first fic I've written about zoey's/coder bfs! I used to write a ton of fics and now I feel a lil rusty but I hope you enjoy :D

Maximos was a hit. The restaurant was packed every night, which Mo obviously saw as a great opportunity to plan an event. And what might that event be? A speed dating night that he was going to sell tickets to; making some extra money off of it was the only way to get Max to agree to the whole thing.

Leif decided to buy a ticket, seeing as he felt like he was over Joan and could finally...maybe...sorta get back out there. As much as he wishes he could just continue to stay at home, hanging out with Tobin, he knows that this is probably the best thing to do. He didn’t tell Tobin where he was going, but Tobin said he was busy that night too so he figured there wasn’t a point in telling him anyways.

An hour before the speed dating event, Leif was struggling to put together an outfit. He was usually pretty good at this, at least for work. He just felt like he couldn’t be his normal self; his normal self being a sweater, button-down, and some silly little bird tie. He wanted to make a good impression on whoever he met. Not that he thought anything would go any further than talking for a brief moment during speed dating, but there was always a chance.

On the way, Leif kept looking at himself in the windows as he passed by. _Do I look alright? Is this a stupid idea? Oh god._ His stomach was in knots so bad it felt like he had to sit down. But he just kept right on walking until he got to Maximos. Before he stepped inside, he checked one last time in the window, brushing his hand through his hair and taking a deep breath.

He swung open the door and was met with a large crowd of people already talking and Mo on the stage setting up a microphone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zoey and Max talking, well, flirting, over by the bar, which made him want to up and hurl. Other than that, he was pretty sure he didn’t know anyone else here. _Great_. “Alright, hi everybody! Welcome to Mo’s Speed Dating, I’m gonna have you all sit at a table with someone, start talking, and after 3 minutes we’ll switch tables. Sound good? Good!”

Leif sat down at the table nearest to him, and a woman came and sat down right in front of him. She was clearly a drink or two in and ready to chat, meanwhile his leg was bouncing so much he was afraid his calf muscles would be uneven by the end of the night. She started to raddle off a bunch of questions. “How old are you? Where do you work? What’s your favorite childhood memory? Oh my gosh, I should tell you-”

There was a sort of pounding in his head, and he just mindlessly stared at her as she continued to talk about god knows what. He took a sip of water from the glass on the table, and as he was setting it down, he was this close to spitting it up all over his date. _That can’t be? No, it definitely wasn’t._ Leif shook his head in disbelief when he checked again and saw Tobin sitting across from someone who looked totally disinterested in what he was saying.

A bell rang, and suddenly the woman was gone and someone else was in her seat. But Leif could barely pay attention to them either, mostly just nodding and making something up when they would ask him something. He just kept glancing over at Tobin, his heart pounding in his chest because he knew just a few dates later and his childhood crush would be sitting in front of him. As the next two dates came and went, Leif felt like his heart might beat right out of his chest.

During his last date before Tobin, he looked over once again to see him clearly bored by his date, who looked over at just the wrong moment and locked eyes with Leif. He looked away so fast, Leif almost thought that he was seeing things. He now had a throbbing headache and felt the knots in his stomach getting tighter by the second. When that bell rang it felt like the world was spinning and he just wanted it all to freeze.

Tobin sat down in front of him and they sat in silence for a minute before:

“So yo-”  
“Hey-”

“You go first,” Leif said.

“Your tie is plain.”

“My what?”

“Your tie. Usually, it’s got some cute little birds on it or is a funky pattern. But tonight it’s just...plain and grey, bro.”

Leif looked down at his tie and regretted wearing it. It felt so tight around his neck in this moment. “Um, yeah I just wanted to make a good impression, you know?”

“Yeah dude but everyone here is a snooze fest. Either they don’t wanna hear what I have to say or I don’t wanna hear what they have to say.”

Leif chuckled, and then there was silence again.

“Have you-”  
“I thought you were-”

“You go this time.”

“I thought you were going out with some of the coders tonight, not coming here.”

“Well you never asked. I said ‘Later!’ and you didn’t even come out of your room.”

His leg had stopped bouncing, and for a second he considered telling Tobin right then and there what he had felt for so many years. He could finally have this weight off of his shoulders, and he could finally have an answer to the question that was always in the back of his mind. _Do you feel the same way?_

“You know, I-” Leif stopped himself.

“Yes?”

“Nevermind. Uh, do you wanna get out of here?”

“Hell yeah, dude. Zoey and Max are making me queasy. Let’s go.”

Tobin hopped right up and started walking towards the door, Mo starting to yell at him to get back. He turned around to see Leif still sitting in his chair. Leif looked over, saw him staring, and got right up, still feeling those knots in his stomach. He was so close to telling him. _Maybe another time._

**Author's Note:**

> kudos/comments/constructive criticim always welcome :) hope you enjoyed


End file.
